Furnace for burning liquid fuel



June 17, 1930. J. E. RUTTER 64,529

FURNACE FOR BURNING LIQUID FUEL Filed Oct. 20. 1927 2 Sheds-Sheet 2' BY CC IINVENTOR. I @im,

ATTORNEY-I Patented June 17, 1930 PA'rE'r since 1 JOSEPH E. BUTTER, OF FORT LEE, NEW JERSEY FURNACE FOR BURNING LIQUID FUEL Application filed October 20, 1927. Serial No. 227,370.

This invention relates to an apparatus or furnace for the efficient combustion and gasi fying of liquid fuel such as oil, or a mixture of oil and water or steam, and has for its 5 object the maximum ratio of combustion and the release of the greatest number of B. t. u.s at the minimum cost of operation.

The present invention is an improvement on the apparatus described in an application for patent filed by me June 16, 1927, Serial No. 199,180, and is designed to secure a more complete and perfect combustion and gasifying of the liquid fuel, and a more efficient and greater generation of hydrogen gas.

In the apparatus of said application, the oil, either alone or in admixture with water or steam, is fed to an ignition burner arranged at the base of an expansion chamber leading into a primary combustion chamber above, which combustion chamber communicates with a surrounding secondary combustion chamber from which the burning gases flow into a surrounding heating chamber.

In the apparatus of the present application, a secondary ignition burner is arranged in the expansion chamber over the main ignition burner, to which secondary burner a mixture of oil and water or steam is fed; and an improved form of primary ignition burner is substituted for that of the former application; and in the specification to follow these improvementswill be described in detail, and the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the improved apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, with certain parts broken away and other parts in section;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View on an enlarged scale of the secondary ignition burner;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the primary igni tion burner; and

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the same on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a View on an enlarged scale and partly in section of the end of one oil feed pipe.

Referring to the drawings;

As disclosed in said prior application, to which reference may be had for a more detailed description of the parts than it is here necessary to give, the apparatus comprises an expansion chamber 1 to receive the burn- 5''; ing gases from the main ignition burner, a primary combustion chamber 3 arranged over and communicating with the expansion chamber, and a secondary combustion chamber 4 surrounding and communicating with on the primary combustion chamber, which parts are surrounded by and enclosed in a heating chamber 5 into which the heated currents from the secondary combustion chamber pass, and which heating chamber is provided with side walls 6, a rear wall 7, and a front Wall 8. The walls of the expansion chamber and walls of the two combustion chambers are preferably formed of carborun'dum which possesses in high degree the property of radiating the heat and thereby aiding in the complete combustion and gasifying of the heating fuel.

The main ignition burner, designated by the numeral 9, is, as in my former application, arranged at the base of the expansion chamber, and as shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5, the said burner comprises a cup-like body 9 whose central portion extends upwardly from its base in the form of a conical protuberance 9 onto which the fuel oil is flowed, the sides of the cone being ridged to form a peripheral gutter or recess 9". The side walls and bottom of the body 9 are surrounded by a casing 10 fastened at 8 its upper edge to the upper edge of the body and spaced from said body so as to form an air distributing chamber 11 surrounding the body. A. second casing 12 surrounds the sides and bottom of the casing 10 and 1s spaced therefrom as shown and the intervening space is packed with a carborundui n body or filler 13 as best shown in Fig. t\1l pipes 14 and-15 extend through the sides of the two casings and the lntervening caroorundum body and communicate with the air distributing chamber, which pipes are extended through the front wall of the furnace structure and are adapted to be connected with a suitable air blower (not shown), whereby air under pressure is supplied to the air distributing chamber and will find its escape therefrom through horizontal air jet openings 16 formed in the side walls of the body 9 at or about a level with the base of the cone 9", which air jets acting on the oil flowing down the sides of the cone will break the same up into a finely divided condition so as to promote its combustion.

In the operation of this burner unit, the oil is fed by an oil supply pipe 17 extending through the front wall of the furnace structure and terminating at its discharge end over the burner cone, and the oil flowing down the sides of the cone will be met by the jets of air flowing through the jet openings 16 and will thereby be broken up into a fine spray and on becoming ignited will be gasified and the burning gas will be directed upwardly through the expansion chamber. Such oil as may be left unconsumed in this operation, will find its way into the combustion Chamber through the air jet openings and will escape therefrom through a drain pipe 18 entering the bottom of the air distributing chamber and leading into an overflow tank 19.

Water or steam may, if desired, be fed to the main ignition burner along with the oil, in which event the water or steam, as the case may be, will be supplied by a pipe 20 receiving its supply from any suitable source and extending through the front wall of the furnace with its discharge end arranged alongside the discharge end of the oil supply pipe, similar to the arrangement of the corresponding parts in my former application hereinbefore referred to.

The secondary ignition burner hereinbefore referred to, and designated by the reference numeral 21, is in the form of a rectangular block 21 preferably of carborundum suchras shown in Fig. 3, which is fitted in the upper end of the expansion chamber between the front and rear walls thereof, the said block being of considerably less trans verse width than that of the chamber, whereby there are left relatively large open spaces between the side walls of the expansion chamber and the sides of the block, through which spaces the burning gases from the main ignition burner will flow in passing upwardly to the primary combustion chamher. The burner block 21 is formed in its upper side with a continuous groove or re cess 21 extending entirely around the block near its marginal edges; and a mixture of oil and water or steam is fed onto the upper side of the block by means of a feed pipe 22 comprising a horizontal branch portion 22 extending through the front wall of the furnace structure and through the primarv combustion chamber and termii'iating at its inner end over the burner block, and a vertical branch pipe 22" connected with the outer end of the branch 22 and extending upwardly therefrom at the front of the furnace and provided at its upper end with a funnel 23. The extreme end of the branch pipe 22 is closed and the pipe is provided with discharge apertures 22 formed around its closed end and at intervals in its terminal portion. Oil from an oil supply pipe 24 and water or steam from a pipe 25, which pipes lead from suitable sources of supply, discharge into said funnel and are mixed therein and delivered as a mixture to the upper surface of the burner block through said perforations 22, said pipes being provided with suitable valves 26 for controlling the flow of the fluids to the end that the same may be mixed in the proper and best proportions for ellicient combustion.

In the action of the secondary ignition burner, the carborundum burner block is highly heated by the burning gases flowing upwardly against and on either side of the same from the main burner, and will highly heat the oil and water fed to it and will thereby prepare the water for complete disassociation of its constituent elements and for the gasifying of the mixture, and the fuel mixture thus prepared will, as it 1s block before the heat of the block has had a chance to prepare the mixture for the disassociation of its constituent elements, the fuel by being retained in said groove being subjected to the high heat radiated by the carborundum block; and the highly heated carborundum block by being arranged in the path of the fuel stream blown upwardly by the air jets as they impinge against the sloping sides of the burner cone of the main burner will act as a target against which the oil particles directed with gr-at force, will be broken up into a finely divided vaporized condition.

As in my former application hereinbefore referred to, the oil supply pipe 17 for the main ignition burner receives its oil from a stabilizer tank 27 to which oil is delivered by a pump 28 receiving supply of oil from a supply pipe 29 leading into the pump, which pump acts as in said former ap plication to automatically empty the overflow tank when the level of fuel therein reaches a predetermined point.

In the foregoing description and accompanying drawings I have set forth. the invention in the particular detailed form and arrangement of parts Which I prefer to adopt, but it will be understood that these details may be variously changed and modified Without departing from the spirit of the invention; and further it Will be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular form or construction of the parts, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is: r

1. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of a main ignition burner, means for supplying liquid fuel thereto an expansion chamber over said burner in position to receive the burning gases therefrom, a combustion chamber communicating with the expansion chamber a secondary ignition burner arranged in said expansion chamber above the main burner and spaced from the sides of the expansion chamber, and means for supplying liquid fuel to the secondary burner.

2. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of a main ignition burner, means for supplying liquid ,fuel thereto an expansion chamber extending above said burner in position to receive the burning gases therefrom, a secondary ignition burner comprising a burner block extending across the expansion chamber over the main burner and being of a width less than that of the expansion chamber whereby to be spaced from the sides of said chamber to admit of the passage of the burning gases from the main burner, and means for supplying the secondary burner with liquid fuel.

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my signature hereto.

JOSEPH E. BUTTER. 

